'Golden Boy' creator talks about show's influences

In February, CBS will debut 'Golden Boy,' a new midseason program being executive produced by Greg Berlanti (who got some bad news today). 'Golden Boy,' a crime drama, will focus on Walter Williams Clark Jr. (played by Theo James) and his meteoric rise up the ranks to become the youngest police commissioner in New York City history.

An interesting twist is that the program will use extensive flashbacks to show how Clark got to where he is. A big emphasis in the program will be the relationship between Clark and his mentor, a veteran NYPD detective played by Chi McBride. The program will use these flashbacks to show how Clark learns the ropes from his mentor.

Berlanti said that the use of flashbacks in 'Jack & Bobby' showed him they could work on the small screen, saying that "I think it works well for television, [having] that extra layer."

Another project that the show is borrowing from is "The Social Network," said Nicolas Wootton, an executive producer on 'Golden Boy.'

"When I saw The Social Network, [I thought] that feels to me like the modern young male. There is this drive, ambition, this thoughtless, forward-thinking, 'I don't care who gets burned' ambition," he said. "I thought, 'What if it was a cop?' 

What if there was a show centered on "a young man who has this ferocious ambition and always wants more than what's on his plate," he added. "What's the next thing?" 

Originally 'Golden Boy' was going to star Ryan Phillippe and be a star-driven vehicle, but when he dropped out the producers decided to focus more on the relationship between Clark and McBride's characters than just Clark. In talking about the relationship, James said it reminded him of Star Wars and the dynamic between Like Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

"It was a little bit of art imitating life. I'm a young English punk ... Chi has been doing this for a long time, he's a veteran," he said. 

Golden Boy premieres February 26 at 10 p.m. on CBS. Will you check it out?